I agree with Bob on almost every single thing here. But I think that we need to consider that conservatives might have a point about a FEW of the more explicit books being in school libraries. "Gender Queer", for example, has explicit drawings of boys performing oral sex on other boys. It's not unreasonable or unduly prudish to consider that book inappropriate for a school library. We're talking about school libraries, not public libraries.
For the book-banners, "Gender Queer" has been a gift. They can publicize images from the book and say "THIS is what Democrats want children to see." It would be useful if liberals could respond "Actually, we agree that it's reasonable to not want 'Gender Queer' in a school library. Now can we talk about why you don't want children to read about Anne Frank or Ruby Bridges?"
I agree with Bob on almost every single thing here. But I think that we need to consider that conservatives might have a point about a FEW of the more explicit books being in school libraries. "Gender Queer", for example, has explicit drawings of boys performing oral sex on other boys. It's not unreasonable or unduly prudish to consider that book inappropriate for a school library. We're talking about school libraries, not public libraries.
For the book-banners, "Gender Queer" has been a gift. They can publicize images from the book and say "THIS is what Democrats want children to see." It would be useful if liberals could respond "Actually, we agree that it's reasonable to not want 'Gender Queer' in a school library. Now can we talk about why you don't want children to read about Anne Frank or Ruby Bridges?"